Today provided a unique experience in my journey from the classroom, to the city, to the world as I had the opportunity to tour NAVER. NAVER is the number 1 search engine in South Korea, and has built this success through a focus on the localization of services. Due to NAVER’s founding in Korea, this organization understands the needs and attitudes of consumers, thus a strength is the ability to tailor products and services specific to the domestic market. Some of the innovative smart systems NAVER has produced include: Audio-Visual Speech Enhancement, Character Region Awareness For Text (CRAFT), and Autocut. Audio-Visual Speech Enhancement is a technology that separates voices when multiple people are talking, such as in a news segment wherein a guest and a reporter may speak over one another. This allows viewers to easily obtain information needed to manage distractions in a complex environment. CRAFT utilizes AI to identify text in forms of media like an image or video, and then offers an interpretation of the text. This may be useful in media of poor resolution, providing a tool for users to understand the media’s intended message. The AI service that I found to be the most interesting is Autocut. Autocut utilizes facial recognition technology to identify an individual in a video and focus solely on him or her. An example of this would be using Autocut to follow an individual artist during a group musical performance. These technologies are easily improving our working world, and will likely emerge abroad due to the increase in globalization in business affairs. Another notable aspect of NAVER is elements of the organizational culture that demonstrate the company’s investment in employee wellness and success. NAVER provides employees with a lunch meal option in the organization’s facility as well as on-site physicians. NAVER also promotes a casual in-office dress, similar to the culture of tech organizations in the West. While NAVER has already proven to be a leader in its industry, it will be fascinating to observe the future innovation of this company in a world of seriously smart systems.